December 12, 2004: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Writing - Ecuador: Development: Economics: Sun-Sentinel.com: Ecuador RPCV John Perkins details how our government, in collusion with multinational corporations and the World Bank, has manipulated Third World countries into crippling levels of debt for the sake of corporate profits and U.S. interests

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December 12, 2004: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Writing - Ecuador: Development: Economics: Sun-Sentinel.com: Ecuador RPCV John Perkins details how our government, in collusion with multinational corporations and the World Bank, has manipulated Third World countries into crippling levels of debt for the sake of corporate profits and U.S. interests

Ecuador RPCV John Perkins details how our government, in collusion with multinational corporations and the World Bank, has manipulated Third World countries into crippling levels of debt for the sake of corporate profits and U.S. interests

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man details how our government, in collusion with multinational corporations and the World Bank, has manipulated Third World countries into crippling levels of debt for the sake of corporate profits and U.S. interests.

From 1971 to 1980, John Perkins was a self-described "economic hit man," or EHM. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in marketing and went into the Peace Corps. But he later became the chief economist for a large corporation with international interests. Perkins' assignment was "to encourage world leaders to become part of a vast network that promotes U.S. commercial interests" so that those leaders would "become ensnared in a web of debt that ensures their loyalty."

Although economics can be a pretty complex subject, anyone who has gotten into credit card debt knows exactly how the game works: the banks bombard you with credit applications, promising low rates and high limits. You get a few cards, overspend a little and then pretty soon you find yourself paying the monthly minimum--which only covers the interest. Add in late fees and your debt increases rather than decreases every month.

The way that Perkins and his ilk convinced these countries to get into debt was by grossly overestimating the economic benefits of certain modernization projects, such as dams, roads, power plants and other projects -- all of which would be built by American corporations and paid for by World Bank loans. In other words, the money makes a big loop from American banks to a few elite families in foreign countries who skim off their share and then give the rest to American corporations who put it back into American banks.

If these projects benefited the people of the country and if they actually did create the booming economy that was forecast, it wouldn't be a bad system. But instead the peasants often find their farmland destroyed, their waters polluted and their livelihoods ripped away. And in most cases the booming economy never happens.

Perkins asserts the goal of the men who run these corporations and the politicians who support them has been this: "an America that controlled the world and all its resources, a world that answered to the commands of that America, a U.S. military that would enforce the rules as they were written by America, and an international trade and banking system that supported America as CEO of the global empire."

Perkins' claims may seem unthinkable to most Americans. We like to believe in our goodness, our benevolence, our generosity. But the evidence, when we look at the world economy, is damning. As Perkins points out, the income ratio of the top one-fifth of the world's population to the bottom one-fifth was 74 to 1 in 1995.

The author discusses how the strategies of the "corporatocracy" (the combined influence of government and multinational corporations) has affected Saudi Arabia, Panama, Ecuador, Iran and Iraq, and he shows how our policies created enemies throughout the world. He doesn't excuse the behaviors of the brutal dictatorships in these places, but he does point out how our government supports those dictators willing to work with us and simply replaces those who aren't.

Perkins says we could easily turn this system around by using the power and wealth at our disposal to help Third World countries rather than manipulate them. But before that happens the citizens of this country need to be willing to examine the actions of our political and corporate leaders and demand that they stop the destruction that is making the world an increasingly dangerous place to live.

Pat MacEnulty, the author of Sweet Fire and The Language of Sharks, teaches writing at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C

When this story was posted in December 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Our debt to Bill MoyersFormer Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia."

Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.

The Birth of the Peace CorpsUMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.

Charges possible in 1976 PCV slayingCongressman Norm Dicks has asked the U.S. attorney in Seattle to consider pursuing charges against Dennis Priven, the man accused of killing Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner on the South Pacific island of Tonga 28 years ago. Background on this story here and here.

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Story Source: Sun-Sentinel.com

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ecuador; Writing - Ecuador; Development; Economics

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